Hospital Queen Elizabeth II. Sabah, Luyang Commercial Centre, 88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Abstract
In Malaysia, the prevalence of diabetes is highest in Western Pacific region affecting around 1 in every 5 adults. Diabetes management is often complex and diabetes knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) are vital to make appropriate adjustments in daily lifestyles. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the level of KAP and its associated socio-demographic and disease-related factors among diabetes patients in Labuan Federal Territory, Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 121 Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients in the Health Clinic of Labuan Federal Territory from November 2021 to January 2022. Patients ≥18 years old who can understand English or Malay and on regular treatment in the clinic were recruited via convenience sampling method to assess their KAP level via a validated self-administered KAP questionnaire. Results: On average, the participants have poor knowledge level, attitude level, yet good practice level towards diabetes. Significant moderate correlation was observed between knowledge and attitude (r=0.454; P<0.001), knowledge and practice (r=0.463; P<0.001) as well as attitude and practice (r=0.402; P<0.001). In addition, knowledge, attitude and practice towards DM are significantly associated with other variables such as educational level, monthly income, attended DM program and occupation. Conclusion: Diabetes patients in Labuan have poor knowledge towards DM, poor attitude towards DM and good DM practice. As diabetes education is paramount to better self-care among patients, diabetes programs that are suited to the local setting or culture is needed to empower patients with adequate knowledge for its management.
Abstract
Introduction: Enteral feeding is a type of nutritional support for critically ill patients who are unable to tolerate oral feeding. It is vital to ensure that nurses practise proper administration techniques via enteral feeding tubes (EFT) to ensure that medications can be delivered safely and effectively. Objective: This study aims to assess the knowledge and practice of nurses on medication administration through EFT. The association between demographics and knowledge was also explored. Method: This study is a cross-sectional, self-administered, content-validated, pre-tested questionnaire survey involving all nurses who worked in the ward setting at Hospital Queen Elizabeth II from August to December 2020. Result: A total of 409 questionnaires were sent out with 252 responses received. The majority of respondents were female (n = 240, 95.6%) with a median working experience of 84 months (interquartile range of 44 months). Most nurses knew that the immediate-release dosage forms (n = 237, 94.4%) may be crushed and administered through EFT. Similarly, most nurses were aware that sublingual nitroglycerin (GTN) tablets should not be crushed (n = 232, 92.8%) and that nystatin suspension should not be administered via EFT (n = 212, 85.1%). However, about half of the nurses responded incorrectly when questioned about the particulars of EFT involving the administration of sustained-release medications (n = 152, 60.6%), soft gelatin capsules (n = 111, 44.4%) and hard gelatin capsules (n = 102, 40.6%). Meanwhile, in terms of practice, a majority of the nurses would correctly routinely flush the EFT before (n = 226, 90.4%) and after (n = 245, 98.8%) the administration of medications. However, only a small proportion of nurses (n = 43, 17.3%) demonstrated the appropriate practice of administering all medications separately all the time. Furthermore, it was also worth noting that for some specific knowledge-based questions, nurses from the intensive care setting had more correct responses when compared to those from the general ward setting (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The knowledge gap and inconsistencies in practices amongst nurses related to the use of EFT may lead to suboptimal delivery of medications, whilst potentially compromising patient outcomes. Hence, continuous educational programs should be carried out to ensure safe and effective drug administration through EFT.